Armagnac is a distinctive kind of brandy

Brandy

Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...

 or eau de vie

Eau de vie

An eau de vie is a clear, colorless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation...

produced in the Armagnac region

Armagnac (region)

The hilly countship of Armagnac , in the foothills of the Pyrenées between the Adour and Garonne rivers, is a historic countship of the Duchy of Gascony, established in 601 in Aquitaine...

 in Gascony

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

, southwest France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It is distilled from wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 usually made from a blend of Armagnac grapes, including Baco 22A

Baco 22A

Baco Blanc or Baco 22A is a French-American hybrid grape variety. It is a cross of Folle Blanche and the Noah grape, created in the 1898 by the grape breeder François Baco. Folle Blanche is its Vitis vinifera parent...

, Colombard

Colombard

Colombard is an early fruiting white variety of wine grape, better known as French Colombard in North America. It is possibly the offspring of Gouais Blanc and Chenin Blanc....

, and Ugni Blanc, using column still

Column still

A column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still, is a variety of still consisting of two columns invented in 1826 by Robert Stein, a Clackmannanshire distiller, and it was first used at the Cameron Bridge Grain Distillery in Fife, Scotland. The design was enhanced and...

s rather than the pot still

Pot still

A pot still is a type of still used in distilling spirits such as whisky or brandy. Heat is applied directly to the pot containing the wash or wine . This is called a batch distillation ....

s used in the production of Cognac

Cognac (drink)

Cognac , named after the town of Cognac in France, is a variety of brandy. It is produced in the wine-growing region surrounding the town from which it takes its name, in the French Departements of Charente and Charente-Maritime....

. The resulting spirit is then aged in oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 barrels before release. Production is overseen by INAO and the Bureau National Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac (BNIA).

Armagnac was one of the first areas in France to begin distilling spirits, but the brandies produced have a lower profile than those from Cognac and the overall volume of production is far smaller.